The art of making molds with which to produce ceramic articles has been known since ancient times. One method of making such molds which has been used since ancient times is to form the mold-making material, traditionally plaster, around a natural object such as a fruit or vegetable. Such methods utilize the outside surface of the natural object to form the inside surface of the mold and thus the product made from the mold has the shape of the original object. In contrast thereto, the present invention utilizes the veined and textured inside surface of a naturally occurring hollow object commonly known as a gourd either as the mold face, or to form the mold face. Thus the outside surfaces of the present products have the texture as well as the shape of the inside of such naturally occurring object.
A second field of the present invention is gourd artistry, which has also been known since ancient times. The woody fruits commonly known as gourds have been used in most parts of the world as food and water containers, musical instruments, floats, and to fill countless other human needs; in some cultures the decoration of gourds remains a respected and elaborate art form. However, there is no evidence whatsoever of gourds having been used as molds to produce objects from other materials such as clay; thus the present invention represents a new and unobvious use for a naturally-occurring thing.